Novel shows, not tells; Former C&P publisher tackles fiction

Former C&P publisher tackles fiction

Courtesy J. Miles Cary
Vince Vawter, former president and publisher of the Evansville Courier & Press and author of “Paperboy.”$RETURN$$RETURN$

When Vince Vawter is asked whether "Paperboy," his first novel about a boy who stutters, is autobiographical, he refers to his book, letting the characters answer the question.

"When the young paperboy argues that ‘fiction is only a story and nonfiction is the truth,' (another character) replies ‘you are referring merely to the rule of law. I contend that one is likely to find more truth in fiction. A good painting after all is more truthful than a photograph.'"

Vawter goes on to answer more personally in his blog at www.VinceVawter.com. "To be more specific, as a child who stuttered, I: Blacked out on more than one occasion while trying to say my name; pressed a thumbtack in my hand while reciting in class so the pain would conceal my embarrassment; banged out words on a typewriter at night when those words failed me during the day. And for an 11-year-old, I did have a pretty good fastball."

Vawter, the former president and publisher of the Evansville Courier & Press, will crisscross the country this summer introducing his book and signing copies. He started writing "Paperboy" while in Evansville. The book will be launched in his hometown of Memphis on May 14, with a book-signing at 6 p.m. at Booksellers at Laurelwood. Then Vawter will stop in Evansville for a book-signing at Barnes & Noble at 7 p.m. May 16 followed by a signing at 6 p.m. May 21 at the Knoxville, Tenn., News Sentinel, where he also worked.

According to publicity for the book, "Paperboy" is the story of an 11-year-old boy living in Memphis in 1959 who throws the meanest fastball in town, but talking is a whole different ballgame. He can barely say a word without stuttering, not even his own name.

So when he takes over his best friend's paper route for the month of July, he knows he'll be forced to communicate with the different customers, including a housewife who drinks too much and a retired merchant mariner who seems to know just about everything. It's a run-in with the neighborhood junk man, a bully and thief, that stirs up real trouble — and puts the boy's life, as well as that of his family's devoted housekeeper, in danger.

Booklist's Ilene Cooper wrote, "The well-crafted characters, the hot Southern summer, and the coming-of-age events are reminiscent of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.' But this book has added dimension in the way it brilliantly gets readers inside the head of a boy who stutters."

Vawter says writing the novel was a journey. "The journey was 10 years, mainly because I didn't know what I was doing. I had to unlearn many of the rules of journalism. I had to learn to show and not tell," he said "The manuscript went from 90,000 words down to 50,000 words and from a general audience to a middle-grade/young adult audience.

"However, I still think all ages can get something from the book. How many books for young people do you know that include Voltaire, the philosopher Martin Heidegger and Greek mythology, not to mention Howdy Dowdy?"

Vawter said he had not started a sequel, but the publisher is saying that readers will demand one because they will want to grow with the paperboy.

"That thought is a little frightening. I have an outline, but I'm going to need to find some doses of energy and confidence," Vawter said.

He said the hardest part of writing the novel is "staying inside the adolescent voice without being condescending or overreaching."

The most rewarding part of the process has come from the readers.

"While all the reviews so far have been beyond my wildest dreams, the one I appreciate the most is the gentleman who said his life would have been so much better if he could have read this book when he was 12 years old."

Vawter and his wife, Betty, live in Louisville, Tenn., on a small farm in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.